By Ben Ray, Contributor

The Federal Way Eagles were dominated by the Lancers of Kennedy Catholic High School at Federal Way Memorial Stadium on Sept. 30 with a score of 40-8. The two teams were tied for the best record in the NPSL at the 4A level at 3-1 overall.

Federal Way started the game very strong, driving the length of the field and getting the ball inside the 10-yard line. The Kennedy defense would come up with a fourth and goal stop, nullifying the Eagle drive. Two plays later, the Federal Way defense would force a Lancer fumble and recover the ball right outside the red zone.

Federal Way once again drove the ball inside the 10-yard line and would be denied by the Kennedy defense on consecutive drives.

The next possession for the Lancers would have a similar fate to their first drive. Instead of the second play ending the possession, it would be the third. Federal Way’s defense forced their second fumble of the game giving the Eagle offense a third chance to score with a short field.

With five total plays and 7 minutes of game time, the Federal Way defense created two turnovers against a highly potent Lancer offense.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, they would be held off the scoreboard for a third trip. It ended with a goal line interception by Lancer freshman Dante Saldino. Giving Kennedy another opportunity to score but most importantly, they held the Eagles to zero points.

The first points of the game would come in the second quarter. A drive fueled by a 41-yard reception by Lancer WR Isaac Syph, and a fourth and 12th conversion set the Lancers up deep inside Eagle territory. The possession finished with a 7-yard touchdown run from Arizona State University commit Xe’Ree Alexander, and the two-point scored by Mason Moriarty. Kennedy also converted every single two-point conversion on the night.

Kennedy would tally an additional 16 points in a row to end the first half, both were two receiving touchdowns. The first was a Syph 13-yard run and catch and the second was Mason Hayes with an 8-yard reception. The Lancers led the Eagles 24-0 going into halftime. There were a combined nine turnovers in that first half. Federal Way turned the ball over five times (3 INT), Kennedy turned the ball over four times (1 INT).

The Lancers continued their dominance in the second half. Kennedy only scored two more touchdowns, but silenced Federal Way’s offense. To start the second half the Lancers scored on their first possession with Alexander scoring his second touchdown of the night with a 5-yard run. The final Lancer touchdown came at the end of an 88-yard drive capped off by Indy Jones which was his only touchdown, cashing in from five yards out.

The lone Federal Way score came with just under 5 seconds left in the game. Quarterback Jay O’Neil found Senior Roman Hutchinson in the back of the end zone getting the Eagles points on the board. The two-point conversion was converted by Sio Hefa with an impressive 2-yard run for the final two points of the contest.

The Eagles will be back in action as they play host to Tahoma High School Thursday night for a 6 p.m. Oct. 6. Kennedy’s turnaround is a little bit longer as they will also host the Kentridge Chargers on Saturday with a noon kickoff at Highline Memorial Stadium.